by Deborah Hanyon, MPH, RDN, ACE-CHC | Jul 4, 2022 | Getting Kids Moving, Nutrition and Health
5 Tips to Make the Most of Your Outdoor Exercise Plan Year-Round
Plan the length of your exercise routine based on what the weather is doing.
Running long distances for hours on end is great if the outdoor temperature remains mild. But in extreme weather, or in very cold or hot conditions, you’ll want to shorten the amount of time you spend exercising outside.
Exercising in extreme heat poses risk of dehydration, heat exhaustion, sun stroke, and sunburn. Protect yourself by taking the necessary precautions. Bring a supply of cool water and refill as necessary. Apply sunscreen before heading out. Refuel with potassium-rich fruits such as a banana, after a run.
If you’re out in very hot weather, give yourself a cool-down every 20 minutes or so. Sip water, wring a wet cloth out over your head or even douse yourself with the garden hose.
What about exercising when it’s extremely cold?
If you're heading out for a walk or run, take care to protect yourself and limit your running time to 30 minutes at most. Also keep in mind that if you sweat but then hang around in damp clothing while being exposed to cold weather, you’re bound to catch a chill and that can lower your resistance to colds and flu germs. So bring a change of clean, dry clothing.
General tips for exercising outdoors:
Dress appropriately. They always say that people who run and exercise outdoors should layer up, and that makes the most sense. You can utilize materials that will wick away excess perspiration for the layer of clothing closest to the body. Then add layers for comfort and warmth.
If it gets too hot, strip down a layer or two. If you get cold, head back to your vehicle and grab your jacket or outer layer of clothing to add extra insulation.
Adjust your route.
Sometimes if it's raining or snowing you'll want to avoid those high and low spots where water can gather or where it may be slippery and you are likely to lose your balance. Plan your run according to what type of terrain you expect to encounter.
Stay close to civilization.
Extreme seasonal weather brings an increased chance of finding yourself in a dangerous situation. Anything can happen. That’s why it makes sense to run where people are.
Choose a spot where others go to exercise, such as a park or fitness trail.
Or if it’s night time, run through a well-lit neighborhood where people are likely to be coming and going. This way, if anything goes wrong, you can flag someone down.
Adjust your schedule to accommodate the weather.
If temperatures are expected to climb into the 90s, head out early for your morning jog to beat the heat. Or, exercise outdoors after 6:00 p.m. when the sun is lower in the sky.
If it's freezing, target the noon to 2:00 p.m. hours as the time of day to get out there and move your body in the sunshine. You’d be surprised at how much of a difference being in the sun makes when you’re outdoors on a cold, wintry day.
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by Deborah Hanyon, MPH, RDN, ACE-CHC | Jul 1, 2022 | Getting Kids Moving, Nutrition and Health
7 Tips for Exercising Outdoors Year-Round and in All Weather
Have you decided that exercising outdoors in nature is going to be a year-round pastime for you? This is a great goal to have, for a few reasons. It's nice to get outside and breathe the fresh air. Getting a break from people can be good for your mental health. And being in nature is a great way to slow down, increase mindfulness and soothe your nervous system.
But how will you stay true to your commitment to outdoor exercise when the weather does wacky things? This will take some extra effort, but lots of people do it and are all the healthier and happier for it.
Plan ahead
Committing to an exercise routine means making room in your life. If you know that you like to exercise at a certain park or field that’s a certain distance away from your home or work, then scheduling factors in.
Be prepared
Your favorite park to walk, run or play sports in is 4 minutes from your work but fifteen minutes from home. Packing a back of workout clothes, a healthy snack, running shoes and hydration will ensure that you head straight to your outdoor exercise destination after work if that works best with your daily schedule.
Pivot as needed
Sometimes the weather derails our plan. So do those mini emergencies, like one of your kids texting in that they need a ride home at the exact time when you planned to be out exercising.
Have a backup plan
If Plan A comes undone, you’ll still have Plan B. So maybe you were asked to stay late at work which means you missed your time slot for taking a run through the neighborhood. Now it’s dark. You don’t like running in the dark, but you’re committed to a workout – so exercise video and free weight at home it is.
Be safety-minded
Exercising outdoors requires taking extra safety precautions. A fanny pack can keep your keys on your person so you don’t end up having to hold them while jogging or accidentally having them fall out of your jacket pocket. It’s also a smart idea to avoid desolate areas like the park, if you’re running after hours. Proper running shoes factor in, as does dressing for the weather.
Dress for comfort and function
Choose active wear that’s snug fitting, wicks away perspiration, and has some give so you can move freely. Microfiber works well for this purpose. Choose running shoes that offer good arch support and that will cushion impact as you run.
Choose your seasonal sport or activity
You’re not limited to running outdoors if that bores you. Many people hit the paths at the park to walk, ride bikes, skateboard and rollerblade. You can also do yoga, shoot some hoops, play soccer or baseball with your kids, Hula hoop, or do any number of outdoor sports to keep things interesting.
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by Deborah Hanyon, MPH, RDN, ACE-CHC | Jun 29, 2022 | Getting Kids Moving, Nutrition and Health
Why Exercise Outdoors Year-Round?
Exercise is great for your body and mind. But there’s no question that if you're doing it outdoors, sometimes extreme temps can derail your plan. Or, at the very least, inclement weather can make outdoor exercise seem like something you’d prefer to avoid.
If you’re lucky enough to have four seasons where you live, then exercising in the spring and fall are usually the most desirable and likely times to do it outdoors. Fifty to 80° temperatures seem like the ideal reason to get up, get out there, breathe the fresh air and get your body moving.
That said, staying fit year-round means exercising year-round. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) maintains that we should exercise for a half an hour a day for 5 days a week, minimum. Of course, as much as we would like the fine print to read “in favorable weather only,” we know that to stay healthy we’ve got to keep up with exercise year-round.
So what's wrong with indoor exercise?
Well, nothing at all if it suits you. There are plenty of opportunities to move your body indoors such as getting a gym membership and actually going, purchasing exercise equipment that will let you burn calories and get fit in your own home, or taking a class like Zumba or karate indoors.
However, exercising indoors also means breathing that recycled air from vents – air conditioned or heated air, depending on the time of year. A lot of us can feel pretty wiped out, huffing and puffing away on our cardio machines, inhaling air from the ceiling vents which may contain dust and mold particles as well as other potential irritants.
For that reason alone, outdoor exercise holds its appeal –and quite frankly once you get into it, there is nothing quite like it.
Another reason many people prefer to exercise outdoors: the sense of peace and freedom.
Being at the gym, working out in the company of other, fitness-minded folks can be fun. So can hopping on the elliptical or doing a zoom from the comfort of your basement or rec room at home. But if outdoor exercise feels like a great escape and needed alone time for you, then by all means keep it up even in those extreme weather seasons.
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